STENDERS

STENDERS is a Latvian bath and body care company founded in Riga in 2001 [5]. It makes handmade soaps, bath products, skincare and home fragrance rooted in what the company calls Nordic nature and Latvia's bathing culture. The brand is named after Gotthard Friedrich Stender, an 18th-century Latvian Enlightenment scholar, and positions itself as a specialist in bathing rituals and everyday "me-time".

In September 2024, the private-equity firm L Catterton acquired a majority stake in STENDERS [4]. The brand continues to operate under its own name, with production still based in Latvia and stated plans to expand across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States.

STENDERS was founded in Riga in 2001 [5][9]. According to the brand, its first shop opened in the city with the idea of offering something different — products with what it describes as added value. Trade press reporting the 2024 acquisition traces the same origin, noting the brand was "born in Riga, Latvia" and remains headquartered and manufactured there.

The name comes from Gotthard Friedrich Stender (1714–1796), a Baltic German Lutheran pastor described in his Wikipedia entry as the first Latvian grammarian and lexicographer and a founder of Latvian secular literature [7]. He wrote the first Latvian-German and German-Latvian dictionaries and the first encyclopedia in the language. The company says his example of "knowledge, excellence, and creativity, while always respecting nature" informs its own approach. Although the surname is Germanic in sound, both the historical figure and the brand are Latvian.

STENDERS describes its purpose as creating high-quality products inspired by Nordic nature, and calls itself an expert in bathing rituals. The company frames "me-time" as a conscious act of recharging and reconnecting with oneself. A retailer brand page summarises its market position with the descriptor "Bath & Body Care Inspired by Nature".

Craftsmanship is central to how the brand presents itself. When modernising production, the company says it keeps steps handmade "where it adds the highest value". Trade coverage describes products as handcrafted at a facility in Riga beside the Daugava River, where each formula is mixed, poured and packaged.

The range spans bath, body, face, hair, hands, soap, gifts and accessories. Handmade soaps and bubble balls — bath fizzers — are among its recognisable products. The company emphasises natural ingredients, citing plant oils, plant extracts, essential oils, beeswax and honey.

Sources give different figures for the size of the catalogue. Trade press covering the 2024 expansion put the portfolio at "over 400 products" [5], while a retailer brand page describes "more than 320 carefully crafted products" [8]. The figures come from different dates and sources and are consistent with a growing range; the 400-plus figure is the more recent.

STENDERS positions its products as developed with a focus on safety, sustainability and functionality. According to trade reporting, each product is made in Latvia using natural ingredients and packaged in fully recyclable materials [5]. A retailer example cited a birch massage brush with an FSC-certified wooden handle.

In September 2024, L Catterton acquired a majority stake in STENDERS; financial terms were not disclosed [4]. At the time of the acquisition, the brand was reported to operate more than 300 stores across 20 countries and to have grown revenue by around 20 percent annually over the preceding four years. L Catterton managing partner Scott Chen linked the investment to consumers "trading up" in bath and body care, while STENDERS chief operating officer Kristine Grapmane framed the partnership as unlocking the brand's next stage of growth.

Company records list Zane Stavra as the founder [9]. Other directory and database sources name later executives in operational roles — Jānis Bērziņš as managing director [6] and Yang Gang as chief executive [9] — reflecting different roles and periods rather than a disputed founder.

STENDERS remains an active, standalone brand under majority ownership by L Catterton following the September 2024 acquisition [4]. Its most recent recorded activity is that acquisition and the accompanying international expansion plans. Production continues in Latvia, and a Latvian export directory describes the company as one of the largest body-care manufacturers in Northern Europe and the first Latvian company to franchise successfully outside Latvia [6].